General Roots and Prefixes

Root or Prefix Meaning Examples

a, an not, without atheist, anarchy, anonymous apathy,
aphasia, anemia
ab away from absent, abduction, aberrant, abstemious
ambul to walk ambulatory, amble, ambulance,
somnambulist
ante before anteroom, antebellum, antedate
antecedent, antediluvian
anti, ant against, opposite antisocial, antiseptic, antithesis, antibody,
antichrist, antinomies, antifreeze,
antipathy, antigen, antibiotic
audi to hear audience, auditory, audible, auditorium,
audiovisual, audition
be thoroughly bedecked, besmirch, besprinkled
auto self automobile, automatic, autograph,
autonomous, autoimmune
bene good, well benefactor, beneficial, benevolent,
benediction, beneficiary, benefit
cede, ceed, cess to go, to yield succeed, proceed, precede, recede,
secession, exceed, succession
chron time chronology, chronic, chronicle
chronometer, anachronism
cide, cis to kill, to cut fratricide, suicide, incision, excision,
circumcision
circum around circumnavigate, circumflex,
circumstance, circumcision,
circumference, circumorbital,
circumlocution, circumvent,
circumscribe, circulatory
clud, clus claus to close include, exclude, clause, claustrophobia,
enclose, exclusive, reclusive, conclude
con, com with, together convene, compress, contemporary,
converge, compact, confluence,
concatenate, conjoin, combine
contra, counter against, opposite contradict, counteract, contravene,
contrary, counterspy, contrapuntal
cred to believe credo, credible, credence, credit,
credential, credulity, incredulous
cycl circle, wheel bicycle, cyclical, cycle, encyclical
de from, down, away detach, deploy, derange, deodorize,
devoid, deflate, degenerate, deice
dei, div God, god divinity, divine, deity, divination, deify
demo people democracy, demagogue, epidemic
dia through, across, diameter, diagonal, dialogue dialect,
between dialectic, diagnosis, diachronic
dict speak predict, verdict, malediction, dictionary,
dictate, dictum, diction, indict
dis, dys, dif away, not, negative dismiss, differ, disallow, disperse,
dissuade, disconnect, dysfunction,
disproportion, disrespect, distemper,
distaste, disarray, dyslexia
duc, duct to lead, pull produce, abduct, product, transducer,
viaduct, aqueduct, induct, deduct, reduce,
induce
dyn, dyna power dynamic, dynamometer, heterodyne,
dynamite, dynamo, dynasty
ecto outside, external ectomorph, ectoderm, ectoplasm, ectopic,
ectotherm
endo inside, withing endotoxin, endoscope, endogenous
equi equal equidistant, equilateral, equilibrium,
equinox, equitable, equation, equator
e, ex out, away, from emit, expulsion, exhale, exit, express,
exclusive, enervate, exceed, explosion
exter, extra outside of external, extrinsic, exterior extraordinary,
extra biblical extracurricular, extrapolate,
extraneous
flu, flux flow effluence, influence, effluvium, fluctuate,
confluence, reflux, influx
flect, flex to bend flexible, reflection, deflect, circumflex
graph, gram to write polygraph, grammar, biography, graphite,
telegram, autograph, lithograph,
historiography, graphic
hetero other heterodox, heterogeneous, heterosexual,
heterodyne
homo same homogenized, homosexual, homonym,
homophone
hyper over, above hyperactive, hypertensive, hyperbolic,
hypersensitive, hyperventilate,
hyperkinetic
hypo below, less than hypotension, hypodermic, hypoglycemia,
hypoallergenic
in, im not inviolate, innocuous, intractable,
innocent, impregnable, impossible
infra beneath infrared, infrastructure
inter, intro between international, intercept, intermission,
interoffice, internal, intermittent,
 introvert, introduce
intra within, into intranet, intracranial, intravenous
jac, ject to throw reject, eject, project, trajectory, interject,
dejected, inject, ejaculate
mal bad, badly malformation, maladjusted, dismal,
malady, malcontent, malfeasance,
maleficent
mega great, million megaphone, megalomaniac, megabyte,
megalopolis
meso middle mesomorph, mesoamerica, mesosphere
meta beyond, change metaphor, metamorphosis, metabolism,
metahistorical, metainformation
meter measure perimeter, micrometer, ammeter,
multimeter, altimeter
micro small microscope, microprocessor, microfiche,
micrometer, micrograph
mis bad, badly misinform, misinterpret, mispronounce,
misnomer, mistake, misogynist
mit, miss to send transmit, permit, missile, missionary,
remit, admit, missive, mission
morph shape polymorphic, morpheme, amorphous
multi many multitude, multipartite, multiply,
multipurpose
neo new neologism, neonate, neoclassic, neophyte
non not nonferrous, nonabrasive, nondescript
omni all omnipotent, omnivorous, omniscient
para beside paraprofessional, paramedic, paraphrase,
parachute
per through, intensive permit, perspire, perforate, persuade
peri around periscope, perimeter, perigee, periodontal
phon sound telephone, phonics, phonograph,
phonetic, homophone, microphone
phot light photograph, photosynthesis, photon
poly many polytheist, polygon, polygamy,
polymorphous
port to carry porter, portable, report, transportation,
deport, import, export
re back, again report, realign, retract, revise, regain
retro backwards retrorocket, retrospect, retrogression,
retroactive
sanct holy sanctify, sanctuary, sanction,
sanctimonious, sacrosanct
scrib, script to write inscription, prescribe, proscribe,
manuscript, conscript, scribble, scribe
sect, sec cut intersect, transect, dissect, secant, section
semi half semifinal, semiconscious, semiannual,
semimonthly, semicircle
spect to look inspect, spectator, circumspect,
retrospect, prospect, spectacle
sub under, below submerge, submarine, substandard,
subnormal, subvert
super, supra above superior, suprarenal, superscript,
supernatural, supercede
syn together synthesis, synchronous, syndicate
tele distance, from afar television, telephone, telegraph, telemetry
theo, the God theology, theist, polytheist
therm, thermo heat thermal, thermometer, thermocouple,
thermodynamic, thermoelectric
tract to drag, draw attract, tractor, traction, extract, retract,
protract, detract, subtract, contract,
intractable
trans across transoceanic, transmit, transport,
transducer
un not uncooked, unharmed, unintended
veh, vect to carry vector, vehicle, convection, vehement
vert, vers to turn convert, revert, advertise, versatile,
vertigo, invert, reversion, extravert,
introvert
vita life vital, vitality, vitamins, revitalize
Number Prefixes
Prefix Meaning Examples
mono, uni one monopoly, monotype, monologue,
mononucleosis, monorail, monotheist,
unilateral, universal, unity, unanimous,
uniform
bi, di two divide, diverge, diglycerides, bifurcate,
biweekly, bivalve, biannual
tri three triangle, trinity, trilateral, triumvirate,
tribune, trilogy
quat, quad four quadrangle, quadruplets
quint, penta five quintet, quintuplets, pentagon, pentane,
pentameter
hex, ses, sex six hexagon, hexameter, sestet, sextuplets
sept seven septet, septennial
oct eight octopus, octagon, octogenarian, octave
non nine nonagon, nonagenarian
dec ten decimal, decade, decalogue, decimate
cent hundred centennial, century, centipede
mill, kilo thousand millennium, kilobyte, kiloton
mega million megabyte, megaton, megaflop
giga billion gigabyte, gigaflop
tera trillion terabyte, teraflop
milli thousandth millisecond, milligram, millivolt
micro millionth microgram, microvolt
nano billionth nanosecond, nanobucks
pico trillionth picofarad, picocurie
femto quadrillionth femtosecond